The Region
Arouca Geopark
What if suddenly you were presented with a live book telling the history of the Earth represented on the rocky landscape, the rivers running in a hurry, the green of the landscape, and the silence of the mountain?
Arouca, today the county seat, grew up in the shadow of the Monastery, formerly a Convent, which houses one of the most important Portuguese sacred art museums. Arouca, which extends over an area of about 380 km², is a UNESCO classified territory, forming part of its GeoParks network, offering a set of villages sown by hills and valleys, furrowed by small rivers (among which it stands out Paiva, the river of white water).
The Serra da Freita, with the Frecha da Mizarela and the "Pedras Parideiras" (Rocks delivering stones) to the south, the old tungsten mines to the east, the Trilobites and Montemuro to the north and the view and smell of the sea to the west, uniquely frame the valley from Arouca.
But, in addition to all its natural heritage, Arouca offers a set of experiences with unique experiences. The hiking trails that accompany the most beautiful mountain scenery, the same ones that offer trails for the strongest adventures, whether on mountain trails or on mountain biking trails. But, it is certainly in the environment of rivers and streams that we find the widest source of adventure. Passadiços do Paiva and Ponte 516 Arouca, two leisure facilities but also of the history of the land, the wild waters of Paiva and Paivó, natural rafting, canoe and water hiking routes, the canyoning of the Frades, Caima and mountain streams.
People, pilgrimages and religious festivals, gastronomic heritage, conventual and regional sweets, complete a circle that will be difficult to get out of !!!